Growing up as a first-generation immigrant in the suburban Midwest is weird. I was often the only person my classmates knew who had been born in another country, who didn’t have American citizenship, who spoke a language other than English or Spanish fluently, who wasn’t a Christian. I think people often unintentionally treated me as …
Tag Archive: language
Jan 15 2013
The Supposed Virtue of Not Being Offended
Alternate title: YEAH WELL I’M NOT OFFENDED SO WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE OFFENDED BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IF I’M NOT OFFENDED IT’S NOT A BIG DEAL AND WHY CAN’T WE JUST HAVE THE EXACT SAME FEELINGS ABOUT EVERYTHING I often encounter people who are Not Offended by bigotry or microaggressions and are very proud of that …
Oct 31 2012
The Real Problem With “Slutty” Halloween Costumes
If you shame or ridicule women who wear “slutty” Halloween costumes, you’re missing the point. Here’s why.
Oct 09 2012
Faith is not a Mental Illness
I’ve been seeing a disturbing tendency among atheists to compare religious belief to mental illness. Sometimes this comparison is made explicit, as in this article. Other times, however, the comparison is more implicit–for instance, when words like “crazy” and “delusional” are used to describe religious people or their beliefs (hi Dawkins). These comparisons are inaccurate …
Jun 27 2012
In Defense of Cynicism
I’ve been thinking about cynicism a lot lately, for no particular reason aside from the fact that I am a cynic. According to the actual definition, a cynic is either an adherent of the Greek philosophical school of cynicism, and/or simply a person who believes that human actions are motivated by selfishness (or rational self-interest, …
Jun 25 2012
"Vagina" is Not a Four-letter Word
You would be forgiven for assuming that our elected politicians are mature adults who can handle using words that designate genitalia. You would especially be forgiven for assuming that given that many of these politicians are very eager to legislate what can and cannot be done with genitalia. However, you’d be wrong. This is old …
Jun 22 2012
"There are no hot girls at Northwestern."
The other day at a certain user-submitted news website, a new Northwestern student was asking for advice about “the party scene” at our school. He also inquires about the attractiveness of the “females” at our school (I think he means “women”), and several dudebros inform him not to get his hopes up. One writes, “No …
May 16 2012
What You're Really Saying When You Say that Suicide is "Selfish"
I’m still thinking about the Chet Hanks suicide thing from last week and the various responses to it that I saw online. Specifically, I cited two comments that referred to suicide as “selfish.” “Selfish” has to be one of the most common adjectives people think of when thinking about suicide. Those of us who are …
Jan 15 2012
Obscenity and College Admissions: Don't Judge People by Their F-Bombs
I read an article on GOOD that provided statistics about how much college admissions officers stalk check applicants’ Facebooks. Apparently 24% of officers do it, and that number is on the rise. Now, this is really nothing new. However, what did strike me about the article was this: Twelve percent of admissions counselors told Kaplan that …








Recent Comments